Developing consensus for postgraduate global health electives: definitions, pre-departure training and post-return...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Global Health Policy

Background:

• Growing number of global health (GH) electives in postgraduate medical education.
• Lack of consensus on standardized pre-departure training (PDT) and post-return debriefing (PRD) content and necessity.

Purpose of the Study:

• Establish consensus on the need and content for PDT and PRD in GH electives.
• Develop uniform policy recommendations for GH electives across Canadian medical schools.

Main Methods:

• Two-iteration Delphi process involving participants from 14 Canadian medical schools.
• Gathering input on defining GH electives, mandatory training, and curriculum content.

Main Results:

• Consensus achieved: PDT and PRD should be mandatory for international electives.
• Recommended PDT content: objectives, travel safety, personal health, logistics, ethics, scope of practice, cultural awareness.
• Recommended PRD content: evaluation, lessons learned, knowledge translation, health/safety review, reintegration.
• Need for institutional customization of PDT/PRD formats.
• Agreement on mandatory training for remote Canadian aboriginal electives, pending further input from aboriginal scholars.

Conclusions:

• Residency programs must implement mandatory, quality PDT and PRD for international electives.
• Universities and program directors should recognize PDT/PRD as academically meritorious and core learning activities.
• Curriculum can align with CanMEDS competencies, emphasizing holistic physician development.